"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns;there are things we know we know.We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns-the ones we don't know we don't know."
Donald Rumsfeld

Thursday, September 10, 2015

HELPFUL TIPS: THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUGAR

Every time you consume something rich in sugar, you are sending a message that you don’t care about your body, that you are satisfied with foods that are making you sick, fat, and unhealthy.

1. WHY SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED ABOUT HOW MUCH SUGAR YOU CONSUME:

- Sugar adds empty calories to your diet. “Empty calories” means foods, which don't have any nutritional benefit.- Sugar promotes belly fat.- Eating excess sugar could lead to weight gain, obesity, diabetes and “diabetes” which bring a host of other health problems such as heart disease.

2. WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR BODY WHEN WE CONSUME SUGAR?When we eat sugar, our body has 2 options on how to deal with it:- Burn it for energy.- Store excess sugar in our fat cells.

3. HOW DOES OUR BODY STORE EXCESS SUGAR IN FAT CELLS?- When our pancreas detects a rush of sugar, it releases a hormone called insulin to deal with all of that excess sugar.- Insulin helps regulate that level of sugar in our blood and store all of this glucose in fat cells

4. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADDED SUGAR AND NATURAL SUGAR?- Added sugars are those that are added to foods. The most common added sugars are regular table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup.- Natural sugar is the kind of sugar contained in fruits, vegetables, and other plants.

5. HOW MUCH ADDED SUGAR SHOULD YOU CONSUME PER DAY?According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:- Men: 150 calories per day from added sugar (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).- Women: 100 calories per day from added sugar (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

6. HOW MUCH NATURAL SUGAR IS GOOD FOR YOU?- Specific sugar recommendations aren’t available for natural sugars which occur in fruits.- Fruits are packed with beneficial vitamins, minerals and fiber.- Your daily consumption of Fruits and Vegetables should be around 33% of your diet.

7. WHAT ABOUT FRUIT SUGAR?- When you consume fruit, you are not only consuming fructose, but also consuming fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals, which are good for your health.- But yes, fruits do have an effect on our blood sugar, as it is sugar.- Generally fruit will cause less of a blood sugar spike compared to nutrient-void table sugar.

8. WHAT ABOUT FRUIT JUICES?- When you consume fruit juices, the juice is squeezed, giving you all of the juice but very little of the fiber or nutrients that get left behind in the process.- For this reason, many fruit juices should probably be called “sugar water”.- If you are going to eat fruit, get it in fruit form, not juice form.

10. WHAT ARE THE BEST THINGS TO EAT WHEN YOU REALLY WANT SOMETHING SWEET?- If you are going to eat sugar, get it from fruits.- Go for plain yogurt with fruits.- If you can't pass up something with added sugar, make sure it is made with oats or whole grains instead of white flour (maida).

So, there you have it. We encourage you to decrease your sugar intake, start eating more real foods and cut back on soft drinks purchases. Are you up to the challenge?